Low power and Lossy Networks (LLNs), e.g., sensor networks, have a myriad of applications, such as Smart Grid and Smart Cities. Various challenges are presented with LLNs, such as lossy links, low bandwidth, battery operation, low memory and/or processing capability, etc. One example routing solution to LLN challenges is a protocol called Routing Protocol for LLNs or “RPL,” which is a distance vector routing protocol that builds a Destination Oriented Directed Acyclic Graph (DODAG, or simply DAG) in addition to a set of features to bound the control traffic, support local (and slow) repair, etc. The RPL architecture provides a flexible method by which each node performs DODAG discovery, construction, and maintenance.
DAGs may illustratively be optimized against a variety of metrics and constraints (e.g., reliability, latency, etc.), along which data is collected and reported to a sink usually connected close to a DAG root. For example, the DAG may be built so as to optimize a particular metric such as the ETX (estimated transmission count) and usually have a low-frequency reporting rate so as to limit the traffic in the network, avoid congestion and delays, and increase the network life duration. These DAG properties are generally globalized for use by the entire DAG, and currently, if there is any reason to change the properties for any location within the DAG (e.g., localized events), the entire DAG is rebuilt with these changed properties.